China's Long March 12B rocket completes successful maiden flight

JIUQUAN -- China on Monday successfully launched the Long March 12B Y1 carrier rocket into space from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China.

The rocket blasted off at 4:40 pm (Beijing Time), sending a group of networking satellites for the Qianfan Constellation into their preset orbits. The mission was declared a complete success.

The mission was the maiden flight of Long March 12B rocket, and marked the 647th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.